Militiamen withdraw from US Embassy but Iraq tensions linger

Iran-backed militiamen withdrew from U.S. Embassy compound in Baghd on Wednesday after two days of clashes with American security forces, but U.S.-Iran tensions remain high and could spill over into furr violence.
withdrawal followed calls from government and senior militia leers. It ended a high-stakes two-day crisis and practical siege of largest and one of most heavily fortified U.S. diplomatic missions in world. attack prompted Pentagon to send hundreds of ditional troops to Middle East.

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In an orchestrated assault, hundreds of militiamen and ir supporters broke into embassy compound, destroying a reception area, smashing windows and spraying graffiti on walls to protest U.S. airstrikes against an Iran-backed militia over weekend that killed 25 fighters.
U.S. blamed militia for a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base in rrn city of Kirkuk last week that killed a U.S. contractor.
protesters set up a tent camp overnight and on Wednesday set fire to reception area and hurled stones at U.S. Marines guarding compound, who responded with tear gas. re were injuries on eir side and American staff were evacuated from compound.

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Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group of state-allied militias — many backed by Iran — called on its supporters to withdraw in response to an appeal by Iraqi government, saying “your mess has been received.”
By late afteron tents h been taken down and protesters relocated to opposite side of Tigris River, outside so-called Green Zone housing government offices and foreign embassies. U.S. Apache helicopters circled overhe.
"After achieving intended aim, we pulled out from this place triumphantly," said Fhil al-Gezzi, a militia supporter. “We rubbed America's se in dirt.”
Kataeb Hezbollah, Iran-backed militia targeted by U.S. airstrikes, initially refused to leave but later bowed to demands to disperse. militia is separate from Hezbollah militant group in Leban, though both are backed by Iran.
“We don’t care about se planes that are flying over hes of picketers. Neir do we care about news that America will bring Marines,” said Mohammed Mohy, a spokesman for Kataeb Hezbollah. "On contrary, this shows a psychological defeat and a big mental breakdown that American ministration is suffering from,” he said, before withdrawing from area.
violence came as Iran and its allies across region have faced unprecedented mass protests in recent months and heavy U.S. sanctions have cratered Iran's ecomy.

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Iraq has been gripped by anti-government protests since October fueled by anger at widespre corruption and ecomic mismanment, as well as Iran's heavy influence over country's affairs. Those protesters were t involved in embassy attack. 
President Donald Trump blamed Iran for attack on embassy and Pentagon dispatched an infantry battalion of about 750 soldiers to Middle East. A U.S. official familiar with decision said y would go to Kuwait.
Iran denied involvement in attack on embassy. Supreme Leer Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted by media as saying that “if Islamic Republic makes a decision to confront any country, it will do it directly."
Iran later summoned Swiss charge d'affaires, who represents American interests in Tehran, to protest what it said was war-mongering by U.S. officials.
Tensions have steily risen since Trump withdrew U.S. from Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and embarked on a campaign of maximum pressure through ecomic sanctions. Iran has responded by abandoning some of its commitments under deal.

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U.S. officials have blamed Iran for sabot of oil tankers in Persian Gulf and a drone attack on Saudi oil facilities in September that caused a spike in world oil prices. But Trump ministration has t responded with direct military action, apparently fearing a wider conflict.
U.S. has sent more than 14,000 ditional troops to Gulf region since May in response to concerns about Iranian aggression. At time of attack, U.S. h about 5,200 troops in Iraq, mainly to train Iraqi forces and help m combat Islamic State extremists.
U.S. and Iran have vied for influence over Iraq since 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Sdam Hussein. Iran has close ties to Iraq's Shiite majority and major political factions, and its influence has steily grown since n.
Iran helped to mobilize tens of thousands of mostly Shiite militiamen to battle Islamic State group when it stormed across rrn and western Iraq in 2014 as armed forces collapsed. U.S. and Iran both provided vital aid to Iraqi forces, who eventually declared victory over extremists in December 2017.

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political influence of Popular Mobilization Forces has risen in recent years, and ir allies dominate parliament and government. That has me m target of anti-government protesters, who have attacked Iranian diplomatic missions and local hequarters of parties affiliated with militias across sourn Iraq.
y have also set up a sprawling protest camp in central Baghd, and for weeks have been trying to enter Green Zone. Iraqi security forces have beaten m back with tear gas and live ammunition, killing hundreds.
militiamen and ir supporters, however, were able to quickly enter Green Zone and mass in front of embassy, with little if any resistance from authorities.
Iraq's government vehemently condemned airstrikes on militia, saying it violated national sovereignty. But Iran and its allies might have also seen attack as a way of diverting attention from anti-government protests.
“Iran has been trying to provoke U.S. into helping it solve its Iraq problem,” Crisis Group, an international think tank, said in a briefing on crisis. “ Trump ministration, by responding to attacks in Kirkuk and elsewhere with airstrikes, has obliged.”

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